Open Forum

Hi All!

I am looking for some guidance and insights from a mid-scale art museum that manages memberships of 5000 households and below, particularly regarding implementing commission-based sales for frontline staff for membership.

I am considering incorporating commission-based incentives to drive membership engagement and sales. I would greatly appreciate any advice or best practices from those with experience in this area. I am interested in learning about the practicalities, challenges, and successes associated with such an initiative and any considerations or pitfalls to be mindful of during implementation.

Any insights or experiences you can share would be immense as I explore this strategy for enhancing our membership program. Feel free to shoot me an email, and maybe we can schedule a 30-minute Zoom chat.

Thank you!

Juan Almeciga, MA

Pérez Art Museum Miami

Membership Manager

786 345 5607| jalmeciga@pamm.org

1103 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33132

 

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Juan Almeciga
Membership Manager
Perez Art Museum Miami
Miami FL
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Hello Juan,

I am with Membership Consultants and specifically, I oversee a team solely focused on membership sales. We pay hourly plus a commission and there are a few other things to know. I'm happy to discuss this with you, will send you an email.  

Best,

Karen Mariani

Membership Consultants

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Karen Mariani
karenm@membership-consultants.com
(314) 574-1185
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Hi Juan, 

We do membership incentives for our sales associates, but we do not call them commissions. For every in-person membership sale, the associate gets $1.00. It's simple, straightforward, and an effective way for our front desk/welcome staff to want to promote membership. The Membership Coordinator and Marketing Director give updates at the frontline team staff meetings along with training about value propositions, upcoming exhibits, and member events to keep the "pitch" fresh.

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Hillary Olson
President & CEO
Rochester Museum & Science Center
Rochester NY
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Hi Juan, 

We have a Membership Sales Incentive program that gives frontline staff who qualify an Amazon gift card for every membership they sell within a given fiscal year quarter. The amount on the gift card is determined by the number of memberships they sell during the quarter. We currently have it set at $2 for every membership sold. This has been successful for us with frontline staff selling about 300 memberships every quarter. We recently amended the program to include new joins and renewals because it was gaining traction with our frontline staff. Although they can be a bit competitive with the incentive, they do a fantastic job with maintaining member conversion and they play an important part in membership sales. The money for this incentive comes out of Membership's budget. Happy to connect if you would like more details. 

Cheers! 

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Daniel Rodriguez

Head of Membership
Bullock Texas State History Museum
Austin TX
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